- Windows 11 build 23435 is now rolling out in the Dev Channel.
- The update introduces a new version of File Explorer based on WinUI 3 and the new Gallery feature.
- The Start menu gets new badge notifications, and the Settings app rolls out the Presence sensing feature.
- Microsoft is also releasing various fixes and improvements.
Microsoft is releasing the Windows 11 build 23435 for devices enrolled in the Dev Channel of the Windows Insider Program. This is a significant update, but it packs some interesting new features, improvements, and fixes.
Build 23435 for Windows 11, according to the official changes, introduces a new version of File Explorer based on WinUI 3, the native interface platform component that is available with the Windows App SDK. In addition, the file manager also introduces a new Gallery page for easy access to your photos.
The Start menu now shows badging notifications to highlight the benefits of signing in with a Microsoft account. The Settings app includes a new presence-sensing privacy feature that allows apps to determine if your presence nearby the device when compatible sensors are available, and this flight also ships with several fixes and improvements.
Windows 11 build 23435 changes
Here are all the new features and improvements for the latest release of Windows 11 in the Dev Channel:
New File Explorer
Starting with build 23435, Windows 11 introduces a new version of File Explorer that retains the same design as the previous version, but it’s not based on WinUI 3, the native interface platform component that is available with the Windows App SDK.
In addition, the company is officially rolling out a preview of the new “Gallery” experience for File Explorer that makes it easy to access your photo collections. According to the company, Gallery offers the same view as the experience in the Photos app.
The new view has been optimized to show your most recent pictures. If you already have OneDrive Camera Roll Backup configured on your phone, the images will appear automatically on Gallery. Furthermore, this view has the option to add or remove folder locations with images, and you can choose the folders that appear in the Gallery view.
New Start menu badging
The Start menu will now show badge notifications in the profile menu to highlight the benefits of signing in with a Microsoft account for users logged in with a local account.
New Presence sensing settings
Starting on Windows 11 build 23435, the Settings app introduces new presence sensor privacy settings and APIs on Settings > Privacy & security > Presence sensing. However, the settings page is only available on devices with compatible presence sensors. If this is the case, you can now manage your privacy and block or allow certain apps from accessing these sensors. Microsoft will not collect images or metadata, and all processing is done locally on the device’s hardware to maximize privacy.
Windows Narrator
As part of the Windows Narrator improvements, users who interact with Traditional Chinese characters are now able to do this with confidence while using Narrator and the IME candidate window in Windows.
Fixes and improvements
This flight also ships with a bunch of fixes and improvements for Taskbar, Settings, Live Captions, Input, Task Manager, and more.
Taskbar
- Fixed a few explorer.exe crashes that were impacting taskbar reliability.
Input
- Updated the TextInput/EnableTouchKeyboardAutoInvokeInDesktopMode MDM policy to allow “2” as a valid value to enforce showing the touch keyboard on tapping an edit control even when the hardware keyboard is attached.
Settings
- Fixed an issue which was causing Settings crashes when navigating to various Windows Update related pages in the last couple flights.
Live Captions
- Fixed the issue that caused enhanced speech recognition support installed through the Language & Region settings page to require restarting live captions if you switch languages in the live captions Caption language menu on Arm64 devices.
- Fixed the issue where you may not see install completion of “Enhanced speech recognition” (required by Live Captions) when adding a language through the Language & Region settings page, and language feature installation progress may become hidden.
Task Manager
- Improved the performance of the expand all and collapse all View options on the Processes page.
Accessibility
- Updated Narrator’s default for “Context level for buttons and controls” to “3 – Immediate content name and type.”
This release also has known issues with the File Explorer, Live Captions, and Taskbar.
Install build 23435
If you want to download and install the Windows 11 build 23435, enroll your device in the Dev Channel using the “Windows Insider Program” settings from the “Windows Update” section.
Once you enroll the computer in the program, you can download build 23435 from the “Windows Update” settings by clicking the Check for Updates button. However, you will need a device that meets the minimum system requirements to receive the update if you are new to the Windows Insider Program.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].